Treating and curing diseases with the stem cells harvested from the outer lining of umbilical cords is one of the most exciting medical developments in the last decade. However, stem cell technology is still relatively new, and there are a lot of misconceptions about this state-of-the-art technology.

If you’ve heard about the value of banking your baby’s umbilical cord lining, but aren’t quite sure if you want to do it, reading the following myth busters could help you make up your mind.

If you already know about the value of cord blood for harvesting stem cells, you may be surprised to learn that the umbilical cord lining actually has a higher yield of stem cells than any other part of the human body. Only 330 cm2 of your baby’s mucus-producingumbilical cord lining membrane can yield 12 billion stem cells!

Cord lining stem cells can be triggered to develop into myriad other types of cells that make up body structures, such as:

Skin

Bone

Muscle

Organs

Cartilage

Nerves

Mucosal membranes

Myth #2: My baby might get hurt when the umbilical cord is harvested.

Your baby will never be harmed when harvesting the umbilical cord lining … in fact, one day he or she may be helped by it!

In every normal birth, whether vaginal or Ccaesarian, the baby’s umbilical cord is clamped and removed. This process remains the same whether you decide to bank your baby’s umbilical cord lining or not.

After the umbilical cord is removed, it is usually discarded as medical waste. However, if you decide to bank your baby’s cord, instead of being discarded, the umbilical cord — with its billions of stem cells — will be immediately processed and preserved for your baby’s and family’s future use.

Myth #3: Medical use of stem cells from babies is unethical.

Cord lining stem cells come from the umbilical cord after it has been removed as part of the normal birthing process.

The umbilical cord is usually discarded as medical waste. But when it is banked, the stem-cell-rich tissue becomes available to help your baby and other family members with health problems in the future.

When an umbilical cord is banked, the parents have agreed to bank it privately or donate it to a public bank. No baby is harmed but many people could be helped by the billions of stem cells found in just one umbilical cord!

Myth #4: Stem cells from my baby’s cord lining can only be used to treat my baby.

Stem cells from your baby’s cord lining may be used to treat many family members — including grandparents.

Cord lining stem cells have been found to be immunoprivileged. They contain the genesexpress HLA-E and HLA-G which help suppress the immune response from the graft recipient. This means that cord lining stem cells have the potential to be used by anybody, opening up stem cell therapies to many more than just the baby.

Myth #5: Cord lining stem cells can only be used to treat obscure and rare diseases.

Through GlobalCord’s parent corporation, CellResearch Corporation., research towards future stem cell therapies are currently being done on these common diseases

If your baby needs to use his or her cord lining stem cells at some point, they will not be rejected after transplantation. The cells are already a matched to her the body! Cord lining stem cells have also been proven to be immunoprivileged, which lowers the risk of rejection.

Myth #7: My baby and my family are healthy. We’ll never need those stem cells, so why bother banking them?

Think of cord lining banking as a kind of insurance. Just like health insurance, fire and flood insurance, and car insurance, you hope you’ll never need to use it. But when you do need it, you’ll be glad it’s there.

And remember, you’re not just banking the umbilical cord lining for your baby’s possible future use, but for all family members, including siblings, grandparents, great-grandparents … and yourself.

Myth #8: I have already banked my first baby’s cord lining. I don’t need to do it for my new baby.

While it is possible that all of your family members can be treated with the billions of stem cells found in one banked cord lining, autologous cells (cells that come from one’s own body) have the highest rate of successful transplantation.

Myth #9: When my family needs our banked cord lining, it’ll be too old to use.

Cord lining banking is a new technology and so there are no long-term studies on the viability of cells that have been frozen in liquid nitrogen for many years. Theoretically, though, there is no expiration date. Once thawed, the formerly frozen stem cells should be as good as new. Stem cells from cord blood that have been banked for more than 10 years have been successfully used as transplants.

Myth #10: All cord lining banks are the same.

All cord lining banks are NOT the same! Umbilical cord lining tissue banked by non-licensed cord blood banks may not provide the stem cell yield or quality that CellResearch Corporation’s proprietary and patented protocols can provide — this may affect its suitability for future therapeutic use. In addition, these blood banks and medical institutions that offer CellResearch Corporation's patented protocols — which include ALL cord lining stem cell therapies — are at risk of patent infringement.

GlobalCord is operated by CellResearch Corporation and its partners. Cords banked through GlobalCord are covered by CellResearch Corporation’s patent licensure which extends to 41 territories around the world, including the U.S.A.

Make an informed choice. Select a cord banking service that is licensed to offer complete coverage for all stem cell therapies derived from your stored cord. If you are thinking of banking your baby’s umbilical cord, call or email us today for further details.